Friday, November 13, 2020 / Friday the 13th

QOD:  Normal is nothing more than a cycle on a washing machine.  ~  Whoopie Goldberg (née Caryn Elaine Johnson; b. Nov. 13, 1955), American comedian and actress

Thursday, November 12, 2020

QOD:  An unexamined faith is not worth having, for it can be true only by accident.  ~  James Luther Adams (Nov. 12, 1901 ~ July 26, 1994), American theologian

Wednesday, November 11, 2020 / Veteran's Day

QOD:  The arts are not a way to make a living.  They are a very human way of making life more bearable.  ~  Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (Nov. 11, 1922 ~ Apr. 11, 2007), American writer

Tuesday, November 10, 2020

QOD:  Being happy never goes out of style.  ~  Lilly Pulitzer (née Lillian Lee McKim; Nov. 10, 1931 ~ Apr. 7, 2013), American socialite and fashion designer

Three Letters, Six Words.

16-Across. Carrier to Cork and Shannon: AER LINGUS.

22-Across. She played Ika in "Quest for Fire": RAE DAWN CHONG.  Rae Dawn Chong (b. Feb. 28, 1961) is the daughter of Tommy Chong of Cheech and Chong fame.

29-Across. "Really?": ARE YOU SURE?

41-Across. Best Actor nominee for "The Crying Game": STEPHEN REA.  Stephen Rae (b. Oct. 31, 1946) had been in many films, but is probably best know for 1992 film The Crying Game.

46-Across. Ignore, with "to": TURN A DEAF EAR.

59-Across. Period preceding Reagan's presidency: CARTER ERA.

President Jimmy Carter (b. Oct. 1, 1924)

Notice the symmetry.  In the first three answers, the theme "word" begins the phrase.  In the last three answers, the theme "word" ends the phrase.

Across:
1. Church seating: PEW.  The eytomology of the word pew.

4. The boy who cried wolf, e.g.: LIAR.  A reference to one of Aesop's fables.

8. Hint of hunger: PANG.

12. Señora Perón: EVA.  Eva Perón (né María Eva Duarte, May 7, 1919 ~ July 26, 1952) was the 2nd wife of Argentine President Juan Perón.  The musical Evita was based on her life.

13. Soften the effect of, as words: MINCE.  My mother made the best Minced pie.

14. Pen name: ALIAS.  //  And 37-Across. Letters before a pen name: AKA.  As in Also Known As.

18. Release: LET GO.

19. Streamlined, as a sports car: SLEEK.

20. Miner's find: ORE.  A crossword staple.

21. Kitchen protector with strings: APRON.  Cute clue.

25. Tiered Eastern temple: PAGODA.

The Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi'an, China

28. "Definitely": YES.

33. Chomped: BIT.

36. Graduating group: CLASS.  There were 99 students in my high school graduating class.

38. Back of a hit 45 record: B-SIDE.  Here are 25 B-side hits that you have probably listened to.

40. Rocky crest: TOR.  I learned this word from doing the crossword puzzles.

43. Slippery, as a winter road: ICY.

45. Colossus island: RHODES.  The Colossus of Rhodes was one of the Seven Wonders of the World.  It was said to have been a giant (colossus) statue of the Greek sun god Helios.  According to contemporary descriptions, it was about 108 feet tall, making it the tallest man-made structure in the ancient world.  Sadly, an earthquake that occurred in about 226 BCE was the statue's demise.  We can only speculate what the statue looked like.

52. Chinese, for example: ASIAN.

53. Baton Rouge sch.: LSU.  I'll that the CSO for Louisiana State University.

54. Snake secretion: VENOM.

58. Italian sauce with pine nuts: PESTO.  I misread this clue as being Italian sausage.

61. Tavern mug: STEIN.  The Maine Stein song is the song of my alma mater.

62. Killed time: IDLED.

63. Boomer's kid: X'ER.  Generation X.

64. Change for a ten: ONEs.

65. Prescribed medication amount: DOSE.

66. Mattel product: TOY.  This company makes lots and lots of toys.

Down:
1. "Split" veggies: PEAS.  What are Split Peas?  Split peas are often used in soup.

2. Daredevil Robbie's dad: EVEL.  Evel Knievel (né Robert Craig Knievel; Oct. 17, 1938 ~ Nov. 30, 2007) bragged that he could jump the Grand Canyon on his motorcycle.  He never actually attempted this stunt, however.

3. Suffix with hard or soft: WARE.  As in Hardware and Software.

4. "Hamilton" creator __-Manuel Miranda: LIN.  Not only did Lin-Manuel Miranda (b. Jan. 16, 1980), write Hamilton, he starred in the original musical as Alexander Hamilton.

5. "__ We Trust": U.S. motto: IN G~D.

6. Luxury Honda: ACURA.

7. Fix with thread: RESEW.

8. Regal abode: PALACE.  The Neuschwanstein Castle may be one of the most recognizable palaces in the world.  It was one of Mad King Ludwig II's castles, which he had commissioned to honor composer Richard Wagner.

9. Hebrew A's: ALEPHs.  This spelling is a transliteration, so sometimes the "English" spelling varies.  In the Hebrew alphabet, the letter is written as:

10. Part of TNT: NITRO.  The full name of this chemical compound is Trinitrotoluene, or more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene.  Its the formula C₆H₂(NO₂)₃CH₃. 

11. Be unable to swallow: GAG ON.

13. Onetime Japanese emperors: MIKADOS.  The Mikado is also the name of an opera by Gilbert and Sullivan.

15. Neil Diamond work: SONG.

17. Composer Anderson and Jim Croce's "Bad, Bad" Brown: LEROYs.  Leroy Anderson (June 29, 1908 ~ May 18, 1975) was a New Englander and wrote many pieces that were played by the Boston Pops Orchestra.  Sadly, Jim Croce (né James Joseph Croce; Jan. 10, 1943 ~ Sept. 20, 1973) was killed when the small plane he was in crashed in Natchitoches, Louisiana.

23. Nice water?: EAU.  //  And 34-Across. Cannes concept: IDÉE.  Today's French lesson.  Both cities are on the French Riviera.  We frequented both cities when we lived in Aix-en-Provence.

24. "Science Guy" Bill: NYE.  Bill Nye (né William Sanford Nye; b. Nov. 27, 1955) makes frequent appearances in the crossword puzzles.

25. Agreement: PACT.

26. Woody's son: ARLO.  Arlo Guthrie (né Arlo Davy Guthrie; b. July 10, 1947) is best known for Alice's restaurant.

27. Camping equipment: GEAR.

30. Grabbed a chair: SAT.

31. Luau strings: UKE.

32. Eminem genre: RAP.  Marshall Bruce Mathers, III (b. Oct. 17, 1972) is better known by his Rap name of Eminem.  He always looks so angry.

33. Cardinal or oriole: BIRD.  Because Baseball Team didn't fit into the space provided.

35. Black or green beverages: TEAS.  Do you know the difference between Black and Green teas?

38. Acted properly: BEHAVED.

39. Noisy napper: SNORER.

41. Australian airport code: SYD.  As in the airport that services Sydney, Australia.  //  Not to be confused with 49-Down. Legendary Spanish hero: EL CID.  El Cid (né Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar; 1043 ~ July 10, 1099) was a Castilian knight and national folk hero.

42. Charlemagne's realm: Abbr.: HRE.  As in the Holy Roman Empire, which as we have noted before was neither Holy nor Roman.  Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne as the 1st Holy Roman Emperor after Charlemagne protected the Pope from his enemies.  The territory of the HRE was largely in what is now Germany and France.

43. How football games rarely end: IN A TIE.

44. EOS cameras, e.g.: CANONs.  The EOS stands for Electro-Optical System.  

46. Brewpub lineup: TAPS.

47. Was of __: helped: USE TO.

48. Up: RISEN.

50. South American grilled meat dish: ASADO.

51. Rolls up, as a flag: FURLS.  Furl vs. Unfurl.

55. Deli counter call: NEXT.

56. Early Hydrox rival: OREO.  Did you know that the name Hydrox is derived from the word Hydrogen and Oxygen.  Hydrox cookies actually were "invented" 4 years before the Oreo cookie hit the market.  If you listen to podcasts, you can learn more about the cookie here.

57. Contrary girl of rhyme: MARY.

60. Golf ball holder: TEE.

Here's the Grid:

Monday, November 9, 2020

QOD:  That’s what children are for ~ that their parents may not be bored.  ~  Ivan Turgenev (Nov. 9, 1818 ~ Sept. 3, 1883), Russian novelist

Sunday, November 8, 2020

QOD:  Seize the moment of excited curiosity on any subject to solve your doubts; for it you let it pass, the desire may never return, and you man remain in ignorance.  ~  William Wirt (Nov. 8, 1772 ~ Feb. 18, 1834), United States Supreme Court Justice